The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
This application relates generally to a fire evacuation system, and more particularly to an indoor fire evacuation system that incorporates lasers of different colors as a navigational tool to guide building occupants to the closest emergency exit during a fire emergency.
In a fire emergency, smoke inhalation, not the fire itself, is the largest cause of death. As such, in the event of a fire emergency, it is imperative to evacuate all occupants as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize the risk of smoke inhalation. Typically, in the event of a fire, a structure, such as a building, has a fire detection system that is activated either automatically, by a smoke detector or manually, by an individual pulling a fire alarm. Upon activation, the fire detection system then triggers an audible alarm that provides notification to the occupants of the structure of the need to evacuate. Upon notification, the occupant typically relies on illuminated “EXIT” signs that are located throughout the structure to indicate an available exit.
In most complex structures, however, more than one illuminated “EXIT” sign may be visible to an individual at any one time. In addition, each of these visible illuminated “EXIT” signs may be located at different ends of the structure. This can be confusing and/or misleading to the individual especially in an emergency situation. That is, the individual may not know which sign represents the shortest, quickest route to safety. Furthermore, the illuminated “EXIT” signs may not even be visible to the individual as they easily can be obscured from view completely by smoke. As such, known fire detection systems may also include additional features or be in communication with additional systems that assist in the evacuation of the individual by providing some means of guiding the individual toward a specific exit during a fire emergency.
While numerous systems do exist to assist in the evacuation of individuals from a structure, such as a building, in the event of fire emergency, the systems are typically complex and costly. Examples of known evacuation guidance systems include incorporating sequenced vertical columns of laser light that increase in intensity as the individual approaches an exit, incorporating a single-color laser into a smoke detector to direct individuals to an exit, and incorporating a laser diode image projector that projects successive images along an escape path. While these known systems do provide some assistance, they are extremely complex and costly. That is, the smoke-detector mounted laser at least requires replacement of all existing smoke detectors while both the sequencing system and the projecting system require the addition of extensive hardware, all of which may result in significant capital expenditures. Further, these systems only show a path to each exit available. As such, in larger structures with multiple exit possibilities, the individual may again encounter a multiple of different paths with no indication of which path leads to the closest exit. As such it is desirable to provide a less complex, cost-effective fire evacuation guidance system that clearly and unambiguously directs an individual to the closest emergency exit during a fire emergency.